I know I said that I wouldn’t let Princess out when camping, but Jim decided she needed to get out and stretch her legs a bit! So, there we are, at a camping ground in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on all sides by deeply forested areas, and our dear little spoiled Princess was out roaming alone!

For about half an hour I existed in a state of panic, even suggesting to Samson that he should “Go find Princess!” but as it turned out, I needn’t have worried! She wandered back to camp, tail high in the air, looking a little matted and worse for wear, but perfectly happy. (She’s not going to be happy when we get back home and she goes off for a bath and grooming session, though!)

That’s one thing with Princess, she never ceases to amaze me. I was always told that if you move house you should keep a cat locked in for seven days, or odds are that the cat won’t consider the new house “home” and will run away and get lost. Fortunately, Princess seems smarter than that! I’ve already learned that female cats don’t roam as far as male cats, because they have smaller territorial areas, so I never worry that she’ll wander too far from home, but out in the middle of nowhere it’s a different story!

Anyway, after that I made sure she stayed in the tent, just in case, besides it was only for one night! I’d take her out later for a walk on a leash, but no more letting her roam free! Besides, cats can be real pests in the wild, where they hunt small creatures and birds. I’ve always been careful to ensure that Princess restricts her hunting to small toys, but even so, we get the occasional rodent or bird corpse lying about the place!

The dogs, however, adored camping! It was great for them to be able to roam free (although never too far from our watchful eyes), and they seemed to enjoy being outdoors all day. They even slept quite well at night in the tent, although the sounds coming in from the outside kept them intrigued!